This should be called 19 things for which I am thankful… but who talks like that?

 

Anyways it’s my 19^th day and I’m just realizing that this was a horrible day…in fact, I have a horrible teenage adult life. My parents, as cliché as it sounds, have crucified my social life for a good period of time, but you know what? I’m going to be optimistic. At least I have a life to ruin.

 Without further ado, I’m going to stretch my brain to think of 19 things I am thankful for/ for which I am thankful (for you grammar geeks).

1. My Laptop

My laptop has made me soooo much money!!! I mean not a lot, but without my laptop I wouldn’t have this beautiful realm of tips and personality! My blog wouldn’t exist, and neither would my prized Youtube channel, 90+ subscribers strong! Also freelancing, would have never existed had it not been for both of those, which wouldn’t have existed without a laptop. I actually will create a Computer Appreciation Day sometime soon, and I want you all to participate! These hard working brains need a bit of TLC every now and then, especially mine. Boy you don’t know how many times I’ve dropped this thing and it still loves me enough to turns on, and it’s not slow at all, even with all these pictures and videos and widgets. I love my laptop. It’s a big black Lenovo, btw.

(Remind me to tell you the story of how I got this).

2. College

If you love me and have watched a few of my Youtube videos, you’d learn that I have a strong opinion about some things about Mercer University. However, I love not being in the house. College gives me space away from the grasps of Nigerian woman-submission-ship. I can talk to boys and go out and make plans and be an adult. Once I’m at home, all that privilege flies away. For a while, I was taking cold showers at my school, but tomorrow, I don’t know how I’m going to shower since the water bill hasn’t been paid. Yeah, it’s that bad.

Related: A Year at Mercer University

3. Chillstep

This genre of music makes me different from eeeeveryone I talk to. So far, I’ve only met one person that actually knows what the heck this is. And I like being unique. I’ve talked about Chillstep before in an earlier blog post. Here’s a memory refresher.

4. The OLD K-POP

I found K-pop way back in middle school when it didn’t sound like trap music. Any k-pop fans in the house? If you listen to Big Bang now compared to how they were years ago, you’ll hear the difference. K-pop is changing for the worst and I actually can’t stand most of the new songs. I’ll always love oldies like BoA Kwon, though! The first song I ever heard from her is Silent Screamerz, which is currently unavailable on Youtube…weird. My brother found her on a Myspace page and I fell in love with the song. Then I found more of her songs and learned she sang a song for Inuyasha.

Protein Shakes

Sometimes I wake up and there’s no food. Luckily, I learned how to make the best of this giant jar of Whey protein my brother gave up on. Just add milk, honey, and oats and you have a delicious meal/snack/drink. They say too much of protein can kill you, so I’m not gonna overdose on it, but man is it good. I don’t know how people don’t like the taste of these things. Maybe we just bought a fancy one? It’s the chocolate peanut butter kind.

 

6. Pinterest

I cannot stress how useful Pinterest has been in my life: from school to freelancing and blogging to making meals memorable (for their delicious taste!). Pinterest is the Instagram for creativists all around the world. I do wonder how many men use Pinterest, besides my boyfriend (he did it for me—isn’t he awesomesauce?). So far, I’ve only met one. Oh well, they’re missing out!

If you’ve noticed, I’m trying to be as unique as I can with this list, so no basic things like family or boyfriend or God or anything on this list. Really trying to stretch my brain for this!

 

7. Not being baldheaded

Even though I think I’d still look good with short hair, I’m glad I’ve been taking (adequate) care of my hair and retained some type of length. I’ve recently found some products that have kept my hair moisturized (wish I would have found them sooner to prevent previous clumps!!). For those of you that know about black hair, it’s kind of a big deal now. I try not to make it more than what it is (dead skin), but I would like to stop wearing afro wigs and have hair as big as the wig itself one day. And to do this, I gotta really invest in this here thing called hair.

 

8. My singing voice

If you ever heard me sing in church, you’d ask where I take singing lessons. The beauty of my voice is that, it’s never been professionally trained, but it’s not too shabby. I sound like some opera singer. Here’s a sample!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7BPAysXkFw

I sound GODLY for someone who’s never taken singing lessons. Or at least I hope.

9. Nigerian culture

Even though there are more cons than pros to being Nigerian-American woman, I still cherish this tiny piece of Africa I have engrained in my physical features and my dancing skills! Sometimes I wish I knew the Igbo language so it can be passed down to my own children. But now I’m learning Japanese so that’s lowly likely.

10. Dream of Mirror Online

I used to play the best MMO in the world with my sister years ago called DOMO. It was the epitome of happiness and adventure. You could level up, team up with others, train pets, battle monsters…and then it closed down. My sister and  I have so many memories of Domo, and even though it’s up and running again, we’d rather not try and relive those memories. Plus we have money to make.

Besides, there’s a part of DOMO that still lives on. I met a friend on there that I still talk to till this day. And it’s so weird because in the beginning, I was not trying to get kidnapped. I didn’t want him knowing anything about me….but now we’ve exchanged phone numbers and talk about our relationship issues and just enjoy each other’s company even though we’re states away from each other. He’s a really good friend of mine, and I’m thankful for DOMO for making our paths cross.

11. (My brain is exhausted) Anime

Naruto was the first anime I really got in to, and it introduced me to Japanese music, and from there, Japanese culture and language, and now I’m going to Japan. Naruto and Inuyasha both actually.

I specifically love the ending songs from Inuyasha: My Will, Fukai Mora, Every Heart (BOA!!!!), Shinjitsu No Uta.

And then from Naruto: Go, Re:member, Bluebird. Anime just had good music.

12. My friend Tarzan

I used to have a friend named…well, let’s just call her Tarzan for now. She had this eccentric taste in fashion, so that’s how we became friends, really. One thing led to another and we no longer speak anymore, but she was always on me, making sure I was doing what I needed to do in order to get where I want to be. She wanted to make sure I know what I’m doing in regards to the modeling/acting world, and she even encouraged me when I thought I was too short. I miss her sometimes, but it’s probably for the better that we stopped talking.

13. Peanut Butter

When I gave up meat at Mercer because it was making people sick, I was losing weight. A little too much. So I turned to peanut butter and never turned back. And I don’t mean that ordinary high-fructose-sugary Jiffy peanut butter. No, I go all natural. Skippy and Smuckers! It really helped me gain my weight back the healthy way.

 

14. My Bike

Recently my bike was stolen. And I thought, oh well. It’s just a bike, right? Wrong. I started CRYING. I was imagining a life without this bike. Without having the convenience to ride from class to class or to leave 5 minutes late since I saved that time with a bike. My bike has helped me through sticky situations of walking in the dark and feeling unsafe, and I just couldn’t let those memories go. Luckily, we found my bike (one of my brother’s manner-less friends took it). Now I just need a better lock.

 

15. Ms M.

This lady was a MIRACLE. She was a career advisor at my high school and helped me land my first job. NO FLIPPING BURGERS, NO WAITING TABLES. I had the best jobs a teenager could ask for all because of her. She tried to help my sister out but she wasn’t old enough, and my sister ended up having to work at McDonalds for the summer. Man oh man, does she have a lot of stories to tell from that awful experience. I’m thankful I never had to kiss butt frying people’s fries like she did, and it’s all thanks to Ms. M. God will bless you with a beautiful life with successful, happy children, Ms. M!

 

16. My own room

At Mercer, I had a room ALL to myself my freshman year. It was ALLLL GOD’S doing, I promise. He had a plan for me. He wanted me to focus on building my brand and making Youtube videos instead of stressing over awful roommates or getting distracted. And he deserves the highest praise because that’s exactly what I did. Of course, I was lonely sometimes, but money (and my boyfriend) motivated me…lol.

Next semester I have to have a roommate, but I’ve met her and she’s cool. I just hope she won’t be in the room all the time because when I make youtube videos, my personality needs all the space in the room in order to manifest properly. Ah, how I loved having my own room.

17. Whole Wheat Flour

Back when I was like 112 pounds, I refused to eat starchy white rice and stew, the Nigerian trademark. So instead, I made whole wheat tortillas and whole wheat pancakes. I would make a batch of tortillas every week and eat whole wheat pancakes every other day (alternating between them and oatmeal, the quickest way to lose weight, my friends). It was a lot more work than just popping a bowl of rice in the microwave, but it was healthier!

18. My butt

Because I inherited the African booty, I have a bit of junk in my trunk. And I love it. I know girls that want firm, round butts, but I love mine just the way it is. In fact, I was scared of doing squats because I didn’t want a muscle booty…I know, I sound ignorant and stupid but oh well. I just love the softness and the comfort of my bum. I still do squats, if you’re wondering. My friend says it takes a long time for a butt to firm up. And I’m sure a toned butt isn’t even that bad. I’ve never felt one though (apparently it’s not socially acceptable to ask to touch someone’s butt, but I digress).

19. The last one, OHH MY GOSH. Veggie Burgers

I remember the first time I tried a veggie patty at Mercer. I hated it. It tasted like a cardboard box. But it was healthier than meat so I tricked myself into liking it and now I LOVE it. I used to eat them every single day at SubWay and at Burger Studio. Now my family will vomit if I mention veggie/healthy anything in this house. Yay red meets and heart disease!

 

Anyways, this took me like an hour to create and it’s almost the end of the day. I’d like to shout out my support systems for motivating me through thick and thin, the creator of the Internet, my overprotective parents, my abstinent boyfriend, and God; each has provided the means for me to become the beautiful, talented young woman I am today.

 

Happy 19^th birthday to me!